Typewriting machine



E. L. HAR MON.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22. 1919.

Patentd Nov. 28 1922.

PatentedNov. 28, 1922 UNITED STA EDWIN L.

COMPANY,

HARMON, F G-ROTONJNIEYRT YORK, ASSIGNOR TO CORONA TYPE-WRITER INQ, OF GROTON, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

' TYPEWBITING MACHINE.

Application filed March 22, 1919. Serial No. 284,327.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN L. HAnMoN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Groton, in the county of Tompkins and State of New York, have mvented certain new and useful Improvements in Typewriting Machines, of which the following is a full. and clear specification.

This invention has relation to dead-key actions in which the action is so-cons'tructed that an operation of thedead-key will feed the ribbon as well as operate the ribbon-vibrator but will not operate the carriage-feed,

,15 these dead actions being employed for operating the type-heads carrying the underscores, accents, etc., in which it is desirable that thecarriage shall be kept fromfeeding until the subsequent character is printed either above the underscore or below the accent'mark previously printed; and'the object of the present inve this type of ke -action, as more fully hereinafter set forth. I have illustrated my invention in connection with a Corona type of carriage and ribbon-operating devices, an instance of which is shown in atent to Otto Petermann No. 1,121,044,-date December 1.5, .1914.

In the drawings-- Fig. 1 is a plan view of so much of a C0- rona machine as is necessary to illustrate my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view showing the parts in the position they assume when a dead-key is struck;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary View showing the operation of a dead key;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the carriage-feeding parts in the position Lhey are moved to by the operation of a live e n this Corona type of carriage-feed, a bail is employed which consists of a pair of upright arms 6 pivoted at their lower ends and connected at their top ends by a bar 7 The rearward movement of the bar 7 operates the usual escapement 8 through the medium of a tap et 9 projecting rearwardly from said bar 7; and this rearward movement of the bar 7 is produced by the direct or indirect operation of the universal-bar '10 through the medium of the key-levers 11 or 12, said universal-bar being connected to the ntion is to simplify bail in any suitable manner, preferably as shown, namely, by a pair of pivoted sidearms 13, each connected by a link to the adacent upright 6 of the bail, so that when said universal-bar is depressed by a keylever the wardly.

upright bail will be swung rear- The ribbon may be fed by the movement of the top-bar 7 of the bail in the usual manner, an instance of this being shown in the above-referred-to patent to Petermann N0. 1,121,044, Dec. 15, 191 1. The movement of the bail 7 will also bring about the usual vibration of the ribbon-vibrator-arm 15 through the medium of anoscillating-plate 16 pivoted to an adjacent part of the carriage-bed at 17 as shown in said patent to Petermann,

I modify ing plate 16 and the bar 7 adapt the a dead-key action or a 11V 044:. In the present construction, the connection between the vibrat so as to especially construction to operate either with e-key action. In

the preferred construction, I form on the bar 7 a forwardly-extending hook-like finger 18 which curves inwardly toward the longitudinal center of the machine and is provided with an upright a reversely-turned hook 20 formed path of finger 19 which lies in the on the ribbon-vibrating-plate 16, the inner edge 21 of the hoo in the manner of a cam whe k being curved so as to act n the bar 7 is thrown rearwardly, to thus swing the hooked end 20 of the vibrating-plate horizontally inwardly toward the center of the machine,

thereby causing a vertical throw of the ribbon-supporting-arm forth in said pat manner.

15 in the manner set ent or in any other suitable When the bar 7 of the bail is thus thrown rearwardly, the hook 2O rides out of the hook facing .in Fig. 3,

18 and rests uponthe inwardlyfiat side of the finger 19, as shown at which point the vibrating-arm 15 has completed its upward stroke, which brings the ribbon to the printing point. dwell in the movement a point where it covers At this point, there is a of the ribbon-vibrating mechanism in that the completion of the movementof the bar 7 causes no further movement on; the part of the ribbonvibrating further b which is necessary tion of the carriage- 20 lies against the ing finger devices; that is to say, in the ackward movement of the bar 7 to bring'about an opera,

19 without producing any further;

feed, the endof the hooktj fiat face of the upstan'df'll movement on the part. of the ribbon-vibrating-plate 16. It will thus'be seen that, in order to render any one of the character keys a dead key, it will simply benecessary to provide means for causing said key to give to the bail 6-7 a shorter movement than the other keys impart to the bail, that is, a movement that will carry it to the position shown in Fi 3 in which position, as stated, it has oompIetely operated the ribbon-vibrator but has not operated the carriage-feed. To do this in a simple way, I simply increase the usual lost-motion between the key-lever and the universal-bar. In the present construction, each key-lever is provided with a bendable finger 22 arranged at the under slde of the lever, so that when the lever is depressed the finger will strike the unlversalbar. The usual lost-motion space 23 is arranged between the finger and the universalbar to bring about the usual partlal operation of the type-bar before the universalbar is encountered by the finger. To convertany one of the keys into a dead-key action, I simply bend its finger 22 upwardly as shown at 22' in Figs. 2 and 4 to increase the lost-motion sufiiciently to give the necessary short movement to the bail. In the present instance, I have shown the key-lever 12 as having its finger bent upwardly, as

' shown in Figs. 2 and-4. It will be under stood that the necessary lost-motion in the key-action may be provided for in other ways, it being simply necessary in all cases that the ribbon-vibrating and carriage-feeding devices shall be so constructed as to ensure a complete covering operation of the ribbon-vibrator during the initial movement of the carriage-feeding devices, so that it will require only a partial movement of the carriage-feeding devices to complete the op-- eration of the ribbon-raising lever.

There is another important advantage in my construction, and this advantage applies as well to the live keys as to the dead keys. In many key-actions, it is a common fault, when the ribbon-vibrator is adjusted for printing on the lower (usually red).zone of the ribbon, that, through lost-motion and sluggishness in the parts, the type will beat the ribbon to the platen, i.

fore the ribbon has been raised far enough to bring the lower zone of the ribbon into printing position, resulting in striking of the type on the dividing line between the two colors, thus printing the character inthe two colors, the lower part in red and the top edge of the letter in black. This, of course, occurs. only in very rapid writing, as in slow writing thereis ample time for the ribbon to be elevated into proper position. With in present constructlon, it will be observed that this disadvantage is done away with by. reason of the fact that the ribbon-vibrator com.- pletes its movement to printing position dure., print be-- ing the initial part of the operation of the carriage-feed devices andis there held during the remaining part of the movement of said devices. In this way, it Will be -seen that it is impossible for the type-to reach imparting a full throw to the actuator during an initial movement of the universal key-operated member in one direction and holding the actuator and vibrator stationary during the final movement of the universal member in the same direction when a key is depressed, and means on the universal key-operated member for operating the escapement while the actuator and vibrator are held stationary. by said cam connection.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a carriage escapement, a ribbon vibrator, an oscillating actuator for the vibrator, an escapement operating member having a direct cam connection with-said actuator for iinparting a full throw to the actuator during initial movement of said member in one direction and for holding the actuator stationary during the final movement of said member in the same direction, means carried by said member for operating the escapement while the vibrator. actuator is held stationary, live character keys adapted to move said member a suflicient distance to operate the escapement, and a silent chare acter key adapted to move said member only a sufficient distance to impart a full thro to the vibrator actuator.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination of a carriage escapement, a ribbon vibrator, a universal bar, an oscillating actuator for the ribbon vibrator provided with a cam surface having an active portion and a dwell portion, a swinging member operable by the universal bar and provided with a fixed part adapted to ride over the cam surface of the vibrator actuator, live key levers adapted to engage and depress the universal bar sufiiciently to cause said fixed part to ride first over the active rtion and y then over the dwell portion of t e cam surdwell portion of the cam surface, and a silent key lever having an initial idle downward movement relatively to the universal bar and a final downward movement in engagement with said bar for shifting said bar only far enough to cause the fixed part to ride over .the activeportion of the cam surface of the actuator.

4. In a typewritin machine, the combination of an upstan mginverted U-shaped member for operating an escapement and ribbon vibrator, means p-ivotally supporting the side arms of said member ad acent their lower ends to rock about an axis extending transversely of the machine, a universal key-actuated frame extending fore and aft of the machine, means pivotally supporting said frame intermediate its ends to rock up and down about an axis extending transversely of the machine, key-actuated levers coacting with said frame forward of its pivotal axis for rocking the frame, and a pair of links pivotally connected at their rear ends to the side arms of said upstanding member and pivotally held at their forward ends to said frame at the rear of the pivotal axis of the frame.

5. In a typewriting machine, the combination of an upstanding rocking member for actuating an escapement and 'bbon vibrator, means pivotally supporting said member to rock fore and aft of the machine, a

universal bar, key levers overlying the universal bar and adapted to depress the same when keys are depressed, a pair of levers supporting the universal bar at their for-.

ward ends, a pair of normally rearwardly andupwardly extending links directly connecting the rear ends of said levers with said rocking member at points above the pivotal axis of the member, and means pivtor,

the universal bar, the lug on one of said levers being bent upwardly away from said bar, a rocking escapement-actuating member movable rearwardly by the universal bar when said bar is depressed, a ribbon vibraber supported on a vertical pivot and provided with a rearwardly extending cam having a dwell portion at its rear end, and a forwardly extending arm carried by said rocking member provided with a lug adapted to ride over said cam.

7 In a typewriting machine, the combination of an escapement and a ribbon vibrator, a pivotally supported member connects ed with the vibrator for shifting thee same, a cam on said member having an active portion and a dwell portion, key-actuated means adapted to ride over said cam to swing said member about its pivot, live and silent key levers, means whereby the live key levers impart a greater movement to the key-actuated means than the silent key levers for causing said means to ride successively over the active and dwell portions of the cam during the depression of a live key, and a tappet movable with the key-actuated means a sufficient distance to actuate the escapement only when a live key lever is actuated.

an oscillating vibrator-actuating inem- This specification signed this 17 day of I March, A. D. 1919.

"EDWIN narration. 

